Art & Design Atomium Museum — About — Slash Paris

From a private collection to a museum of art and design

Initiated by the Atomium Exhibitions Department [Atomium Expo], the Art & Design Atomium Museum is the result of a dual objective. One aim relates to the Atomium’s role as a tourist attraction and a cultural and educational centre. With this in mind, the department was keen to organise exhibitions on a larger scale than the limited space available in the Atomium. The ideal solution was to establish a location in the immediate area around the building.

The other aim was to provide the best possible setting in which to display an exceptional design collection [the Plasticarium]. Its former owner [Philippe Decelle] wanted the collection to remain together and to form part of a museum project for Brussels. Launched in the 1980s, this remarkable collection, the only one of its kind in the world, comprises several thousand plastic objects, from the most commonplace everyday items to works of art.

The ADAM has therefore been conceived as an extension to the Atomium and its Exhibitions Department. In this way, the Atomium will be expanding beyond its spheres to form an imaginary tenth “ball”, so to speak. Installed in part of Brussels International Trade Mart, [BITM], this have a surface area of around 5,000m2 , almost half of which is to be devoted to the permanent collection of the former Plasticarium, which will keep its name. As there will not be sufficient space in the ADAM to present the collection in its entirety, the display will be rotated on an annual basis. This will offer visitors a different experience with every new visit to the museum.

Thanks to the financial backing of the City of Brussels, the collection will be displayed in a setting that will show the installations and objects typical of this type of museum to their best advantage (the period room).